Rodi Knights’ House
Posted on 30 March 2010 | 1 response
Rome has numerous monuments testifying different historical periods, however, it often happens that between all these monuments one may forget to see other artworks which are worth a visit. Today we would like to describe Cavalieri di Rodi’s house (Rodi Knights’ House). This “house” is in fact a little XVIIth century castle located in Monti Area, between the rests of Foro di Augusto. The religious order living in this house was born in 1048 in Jerusalem to protect the Holy Sepulchre, the members of this order have changed names during the times such as San Giovanni Knights, Ospitalieri Knights and only afterwards Rodi Knights. Today the members of what became the Sorano Military Hospitaller Order of Malta are simply called the Knights of Malta. This ancient building was restored by Paolo II Barbo and in its inside there are different architectural styles and many “suprises” which will leave everyone astonished. The Byzantine Room has many architectural fragments of ancient medieval churches and many paintings from 1100, taken from San Basilio Church. Another church (San Giovanni Battista) is derived from the atrium of a Roman House, while in Aula Maggiore and Balconcino Room you can admire the reconstruction of a part of an ancient frieze of the Original Forum of Augustus in which the house stands. Above all this, walking through the beauties of this house, you can see friezes, decorations and paintings from Mantenga’s school and some of them belonging to Pinturicchio. The guided visits of this House are fixed and it’s always advisable to call or get information in order not to arrive in Piazza Del Grillo with no chance to visit it. Normally the guided visits are every tuesday and thursday morning but sometimes some visits are cancelled and in anycase the tour must be rbooked by calling the phone number 060608. The visits start after 11am and finish usually before 1pm. The cost of the visit is €11,00.
A creative place in Rome, Micca Club
Posted on 26 March 2010 | 1 response
In Via Pietro Micca in Rome, there is an interesting place with the same name of its street. Micca Club is a very special place offering its visitors a huge quantity of different and always new events surprising him everytime. This place’s strenght is what is called the LAB, a real artistic laboratory which creates the events list but not only this,; the LAB is managing a magazine called Micca Club Magazine, a discography label Micca Club Records and a Radio, Radio Micca Club.
This could be enough to explain the originality of this place, which wants to offer something more, a place where you can spend a night listening to live music. Micca Club offers always different nights starting with pre-dinner with abundant aperitifs followed by live music and ending with the local dj’s music. It’s impossible to describe what you can find here as every night is different. From its website www.miccaclub.com, you can see the events calendar with a rich description and contacts to reserve a table. Before going to the Micca Club, check the events calendar and reserve your table as it’s absolutely necessary during saturdays and sundays.
This place is easily reachable as it is near to Termini Train Station. Via Pietro Micca is facing Porta Maggiore and is easily reachable also for tourists vsiting Rome and don’t have a car. Just at a few minutes walking there are 2 Metro stations, Manzoni and Vittorio Emanuele.
ROME EVENTS – Street Walls Experience
Posted on 22 March 2010 | Comments Off
from March 19 th to March 26th 2010
at Laboratorio 51 – Via degli Ausoni, 47 in Quartiere San Lorenzo
Do you know what is urban art? We are not talking about nonsense writings that have covered our city in the recent past. Street art is a relatively new phenomenon, that involves true artist with spray, stencil, stickers
( read more )
Anzio, Nerone’s villa and contemporary history
Posted on 18 March 2010 | 8 responses
Just a few Km south from Rome, on the Lazio coast there is the city of Anzio, famous for being the city where Nerone was born and right in here he built a majestic villa visitable today thanks to the archeological excavations that broguht it to light.
Tacito refers in his writings that Nerone was born in Anzio, on the Lazio coast south from Rome and that he built a harbour and a huge villa on the seaside. A fantasy legend says that Nerone, in his Anzio villa, witnessed the burning of Rome seeing the deep black smoke which was rasing from the capital. The fire that he made. Anzio is a place worth a visit being at just 40 Km from Rome and with many stories to tell. In this city, in Nerone’s villa, some famous statues were visible (now they are in important museums), we talk about “Fanciulla d’Anzio”, “Gladiatore Borghese” and “Apollo del Belvedere”. Since some years, thanks to accurate excavations, some important areas of this villas are back to light and are now visible. This villa is right on the seaside at a few steps from what originally was the center of the city with its harbour. This villa, during the course of history, passes to many Roman Emperors which were using it as a summer residence. It had many changes and modifications which let it very close to the harbour (nowadays you can see some artificial caves, called Nerone’s caves). Recently, during some excavations, the archaeologists found a marvellous painting “Il Ninfeo di Ercole” which has been restored and it’s now visible at the Museo di Villa Adele. A visit to Anzio can also be the occasion to know something more about contemporary history, because on January 1944 the Allies arrived here to liberate Rome. To this event a little but very rich museum has been created and it’s located in Villa Adele.
Via Appia Antica: a dive in the past
Posted on 17 March 2010 | 1 response
One of the oldest consular roads, Via Appia Antica. While travelling on this road, you will be taken into an historical journey of Ancient Rome. As we know, Ancient Romans, used to consolidate their predominancy by building straight and regular roads which communicate with any part of their possessions without problems. Many Consular roads are starting from Rome and today we will describe the most ancient road existing, Via Appia Antica. This road, during holidays, it’s closed to traffic and may be visited by tourists eager to learn more about the past in Rome. The Appia Antica, as mentioned, is one of the most ancient consular roads which originally joined Rome to Capua, only to be later extended up to Brindisi. The road still shows all the charm and the value it once had, you can see the width that allowed the comfort of the carriages and chariots to pass in both directions of traffic and sidewalks on both sides that would allow pedestrian traffic.
The road has great historical significance in both urban and suburban strokes. Before leaving Rome, this roads passes through the Terme di Caracalla and the Ancient Entrance Door of the city (Porta) with the same name and a little bit further, away from the city, between the rows of cypress trees which adorne the sides of the road, you can see several funerary monuments. Among these, there is the Chiesa Del Domine Quo Vadis and near the confluence with Via Ardeatina the famous (and visitable) Catacombs of San Callisto. Continuing leaving the city you meet the Basilica of San Sebastian (worth a visit especially for its catacombs), named like this because the saint’s body was placed here after Diocletian’s persecution. After a rather barren tract, where, however, you can recognize the place where, according to legend, Oriazi and Curiazi were buried after their battle, you can see Villa dei Quintili. The Via Appia Antica is therefore an amazing journey that should not be underestimated for its importance for the history of the city, a route that if you have enough time it’s absolutely worth visiting.
Villa Borghese, a green area in Rome’s heart
Posted on 16 March 2010 | 1 response
In Rome’s heart arise a great and vast park where you can have relaxing walks between its artificial lake and its museums rich of important traces of history. This is Villa Borghese’s Park, one of the capital’s prides.
Rome isn’t only museums and monuments always remembering us about its great Empire and it’s not only represented by the many churches you can find in the city. Today we will speak about a green place located in the heart of the city, where you can have relaxing walks through its roads and where you can visit interesting places. We are talking about Villa Borghese.
Villa Borghese’s park is is bordered by Aurelian Walls, going from Porta Pinciana to Piazzale Flaminio. The entrances to the park are from Porta Pinciana and Piazzale Flaminio and also in Viale delle Belle Arti, Via Mercadante and Piazza del Popolo. This great estate was belonging to Camillo Borghese, who was elected Pope in 1605 and in times became much bigger until Cardinal Scipione Borghese built the Villa where they stored many artworks which you can see today in Museo Borghese and Galleria Borghese. The estate and the villa became a public park in 1902 when Umberto I, King of Italy became its owner and gave it as a present to Rome city. Particularly noticeable in the Park are Esculapio’s Fountain by Canina, which is located near to the artificial lake where there is also the famous garden with Esculapio’s little temple. In Viale Canonica, you can appreciate the museum dedicated to Canonica’s artworks. At the end of this Viale you find Piazza di Siena, with its particular anfitheatre shape and famous for its horse racing festival. Inside the museum and the gallery you can find artworks from Raffaello, Botticelli and Caravaggio. To put an end to your naturalistic visit you can take Via dell’Uccelliera which ends to the capital’s Zoo.
Roman Castles, the gates of Rome
Posted on 15 March 2010 | Comments Off
Just a few Km from Rome, there are some villages on the hills dominating the city on the south. These are small villages famous for the lakes, nature and gastronomy absolutely not to be underestimated.
At a few Km from Rome, on the so-called “Castelli romani” arise some characteristic and nice places between 2 lakes, Albano and Nemi, on the hills in the south of Rome. These places are very well-known for their food and it’s worth spend some time to visit them.
The first place you’ll meet, coming from Rome is Castel Ganfoldo, nice village facing Albano Lake and specially famous as the Pope’s summer residence. Very characteristic are Genzano and Albano, the second one is known for its bridge connecting Albano to Ariccia. This last is famous for its “fraschette” (small kiosk where you can eat the “porchetta” – pork meat). Continuing further, in direction Nemi Lake, you can meet Nemi, famous for its wild strawberries which are a true delicacy!
Dominating all these villages, at 750 mts above the sea level, there is Rocca di Papa, where you might see a suggestive panorama view of the valley and of Rome. Last, but not least, you can visit Frascati, famous all over the world for its wine which you can taste in the many bars arising in its small roads where we suggest you to have a walk.
So, after visiting in all directions Rome’s monuments, we suggest you a quiet and natural walk between these villages to taste good food, wine and to see Rome from a very different angle!
ROME EVENTS – Rome Wine Festival 2010
Posted on 12 March 2010 | Comments Off
- may 8th and may 9th 2010 -
Rome – Città del Gusto – Via Enrico Fermi, 161
The third edition of the well-known Rome Wine Festival has arrived. This gives great visibility both to wine companies and to wine producers. Thanks to an accurate selection of wines made from the small and medium companies, the wine lovers can ( read more )
ROME EVENTS – The Divine Comedy – The Musical
Posted on 11 March 2010 | Comments Off
- from march 18th to march 21st -
Rome – Gran Teatro – Viale Tor di Quinto (near The Olympic Stadium)
Divina Commedia (Divine Comedy) famous poem of the great Dante Alighieri, will be performed as a musical at Gran Teatro in Rome from March 18th to March 21st (on March 18/19 and 20 it will start at 21:00 while on March 21 it’ll start at 17:oo). The show tells Dantes’ trip in the three worlds: Hell, Purgatory and Pradise while looking for his Love. During this journey he ( read more )
ROME EVENTS – The genius and his inventions
Posted on 10 March 2010 | Comments Off
- from april 30th 2009 to april 30th 2010 -
Piazza della Cancelleria ( next to Piazza Campo de’ Fiori )
The Leonardo da Vinci Machines Exhibition in Rome – The genius and his inventions – celebrates the universal genius of Leonardo da Vinci by presenting about fifty full scale machines: flying machines, like the precursor to the parachute, a bicycle, a hydraulic saw, and many other inventions. They are all fully ( read more )
